Choices Made, Choices Perceived
by Conterra-san
Summary: Consequences. Trust. Metamorphosis. This is the beginning of a short, multichaptered story about choices in the main characters' lives directly after the season two finale. Mild Zutara. Chapter two up. HIATUS
1. Zuko's Choice

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, Zuko would be reformed, OFFICIALLY, and Azula and Long Feng would have died an age and a half ago. So no, I obviously do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender (who ever said he was the really last airbender for sure anyway? Maybe there's an Obi-Wan Kenobi hiding out in the mountains somewhere).

A/N: This started as a drabble for Azula's death scene. . .and turned into a mild Zutara with Azula's death scene, mainly because it was written during history class and I needed something to do. No flaming. I respect Kataangs, and I read Kataang fan fiction, so read this. It's about introspection, control of mind, and trust.

If you want a true Zuko fan fic, go read the letter I had him write, An Undertanding: To Salvage Honor. It's fantastic. (Review that too!)

Go on, dear reader, plunge yourself into the wind-whisperings of Conterra's mind.

Sokka: Wow. It's really dark down here. I can't see a thing.

Toph: Oh! What a nightmare!

Sorry, I love Toph. She rocks, heh heh. But my hero is Zuko. . .

Chapter One: Zuko's Choice

Zuko was in his room, contemplating a ring of burning candles laid out before him. He was alone.

Alone.

The Zuko of the past winter would have roared, knocking over candles and causing flame to dance, to voraciously feed. But this Zuko was not the angry, arrogant, confident exiled prince of winter. He was either more controlled, or a broken mess inside. He wanted to tell himself he had learned to focus his energy, but that was not entirely true. He had gained more control, but he would never be completely rid of his crimson temper.

The truth was his heart was a bleeding mess. His worldview had been shattered, and after he had rebuilt it, block by block, he had come across a major obstacle. He could not rid himself of certain ingrained notions. His new fragile, half-formed ideas had met Azula. Determined, molten, confident, willful Azula. She had erased all the lessons he had learned over the past few months with one promise and a few honeyed words. She was and ever had been the bane of his existence. How could he have forgotten his mantra?

Azula always lies.

That promise. It had retriggered his naive, somewhat idealistic, completely brutal worldview of his past. His father's love and his honor were the only goals he had had in his exile. His whole body and soul cried for atonement. But he had learned under his Uncle's patient tutelage and his own crash landing into reality that these were incomparable to the suffering and pain in the world.

How had he forgotten? His mind had gone up in flames. He knew why. He had tried to give up his family ties, but some remnants of his loyalty to his father and his nation lingered. Azula had hit these weak points, whether consciously or unconsciously , and he had reacted out of almost physical muscle memory. He had to eradicate those automatic reflexes to such stimuli. His honor and his father's love were not worth the world. Not even close. And the Avatar was the only hope the world had.

He breathed deeply, and released it in a frustrated growl. The candles jumped and then settled. He sank into his mind. He must eliminate all guilt, all reservations, and all hate. He had to move on. His uncle had thought he had, and he himself had thought so as well. Hadn't he told the peasant girl. . .Katara. She had a name. Katara. He had told her he had changed, another automatic response, even though he was fighting. That was when the reality had come back, and the flames had been dispelled from his mind, but he was too shocked to stop by then. He _had _changed. He must complete that change. Now. He took a deep breath. . .

_I have to stop her. Uncle told me to stop her. How could I have betrayed him? And how could I have betrayed Katara? She brought me back to the light, but by then I could not stop myself. Before, she was angry with me, and had every right to be, but when she saw that I had been hurt too, she understood. She is the only one I know besides Uncle that ever understood me. She even apologized! She tried to help me! No one has ever looked. . .I must make this right. _

_I _will _make this right. I must. I changed, but I did not admit to myself that my father does not, has not, and will not ever love me. I said it, but I did not believe it. I believe it now, now that I have an idea of what he will do to his brother once he gets his hands on him. What he did to and what he would have, or might still do to his son. _

_Azula is clearly lying. She will betray me. Just yesterday she tried to get me to drink tea made of that crazy plant Uncle found in the forest. I recognized the scent, declined, and left to live for another day. But for how many more days? She wants me dead, and she is merely an extension of my father's  
__will. . .no. _

_He is NOT my father. He's not, he's not, he's _not!

Zuko roared at the ceiling, breathing flame as the candles sprung upward to lick greedily at the roof. He settled, and the candles died down.

_Iroh. Iroh is my father now. And I just betrayed him. Ozai is dead to me. Azula is dead to me. I am loyal to the Fire Nation, so I will stop this endless suffering. I will stop them. I will restore my honor by myself!_

His back stiffened. _Did I ever loose my honor? My father--Ozai. Ozai. Ozai's the one with no honor! He perpetuates the suffering of our people, and kills innocents! Killing innocents. . . _He shuddered. He had never purposefully killed. _A monster. That's what a monster does. He's a monster. He must fall so I can rise, so I can live and love for the good of my people, for the good of the world. _

_HE IS NOT MY FATHER! IROH! IROOOOHHHHHHHH!_

Zuko grabbed his chest and head, feeling pain as the last holds his sire had on him loosened their grip reluctantly. They disappeared, shrieking weakly into the void, leaving him unconscious in a room with darkness and burned-out candles.

A/N: What will Zuko do now?! Kill Azula with a spoon?! (just kidding, private joke.)

Stay tuned. To be continued. . .


	2. Katara's Choice

Disclaimer: Michael and Bryan (death glare) own Avatar: The Last Airbender. End of story. (can you tell how brilliantly happy this makes me?)

Chapter 2: Katara's Choice

Katara was tending Aang when the hawk spiraled down. It landed on a low bush beside her. She cocked an eyebrow at it. The bird shrieked and held out a leg. With trembling fingers, she reached out and untied a scroll from the bird's leg. Aang stirred and woke up. "Katara...what is it? he asked sleepily.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Katara told him. "Go back to sleep. If you get enough rest, my healing will work best and you'll be better in no time".

"'S ok. I'll be fine, " he mumbled before going back to sleep.

Katara sighed. While she loved Aang, she was very confused. Was this love sisterly, or something more? She hadn't figured this out yet, and wasn't exactly sure Aang was her type. She almost someone who was more mature, more focused, more. . .well, Aang was determined, but she still wasn't sure. Maybe there was someone else for her.

Her mind wandered back to Zuko and she sighed. She had finally admitted to herself that she had always given him the benefit of the doubt. Ever since the pirate incident she had been intrigued by him. She had finally realized he was young, just a bit older than her, and handsome despite his scar. He was as stubborn and passionate as she was, and she respected him for that. He never stopped trying; he was the most determined person she had ever met. She had thought him honest, but misguided. Badly misunderstood both by his own people and those who were supposedly his enemies.

He had kindled a small fire of hope in her heart when she saw how he had tried to live the life of an earth peasant, biding his time until the world was willing to accept him. She was unsurprised when he had tried to attack Aang and when he fought his sister. His sister was clearly insane, and inhuman in that sense. Zuko, however, had feelings whether or not he showed them, and she had heard a few stories from Iroh, storytellers, and Aang that proved to her that he was a truly good person at heart. His concern for his uncle had shown her that.

But all this understanding and benefit of doubt for her theoretical enemy had not made her trust him or even believe that he may actually have given up and tried to live a new life. Zuko never gave up. She had run when she had seen him at Ba Sing Se.

She smiled bitterly. Reflecting on his feelings and the love he had for his uncle even further clouded the issue. What he had done made no sense. He had been broken inside, after finally realizing the truth of the matter, or so she thought. She had felt horrible after she had exploded. It had seemed as though he had not quite given up, but had tried to move on, and choose the right path. His sense of morality had outweighed his racial bias and the bigotry that had been fed to him ever since he was a child. He was struggling with this, and he needed help. He had been trying to do the right thing. He truly reminded her of herself. They were so alike. She had wanted to help him, to ease his pain. If only the circumstances had been different, it may have been possible for. . .

She pushed the thoughts of her and Zuko away. Not possible. Especially after he had betrayed her and his uncle. This didn't make any sense to her, but she finally decided that she must have been wrong about him. He was not as strong as she had expected, apparently. Unless. . .but no. His choice had been clear. She looked down at the scroll. She eyed it listlessly, and then, realizing she had nothing to loose, she untied the glossy ribbon.

She nearly dropped the parchment when she read the name at the bottom of the scroll. Could it be. . .what had happened? What did he _want_?

_Katara _—

_I am truly sorry. I know you are probably laughing at me right now,_ —

She was.

—_but I honestly ask for your forgiveness. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I have finally fully completed the metamorphosis I am sure you sensed. I want you to do something for me. I am going to kill her. If you could do one thing, and this one thing only, I would be_—

There were several scratch marks here, and Katara smirked when she thought how hard it much have been for the still-proud prince to write this one word.

—_thankful. My uncle, Iroh, will be in a cart at the west entrance of the zoo the Avatar built. He will be unconscious, so if you could get him to safety, that is all I ask. Do this for him if not for me. If I fail, tell him_—

Katara frowned. She was surprised to see a blotch on the next character, and the paper had been indented as though something hot had fallen against it. Had it been a. . .no. A tear?

—_I love him. _

_Just do this. I don't know how else to save him. I don't know if I'll be successful in my mission and if I fail my foster father is doomed. _

_There is only one thing I can do to earn your almost-trust back. My falcon has two bands tied to its leg_—

_Katara glanced sideways at the bird, which obligingly held out its other leg. She gently took the bands she had not noticed before and weighed them in her hands. They were made of a black material, and what she assumed to be the insides had red and gold stitched characters that spelled out ZUKO. One was lightly singed, and the other—she inhaled. Definitely Zuko. That spice, pine, and smoke scent had its own allure. _

—_These are my Angi Kai bands. You are holding the last remnants of my old life in your hands. I would like them back, but if I die, there is no other save my Uncle that I would wish to have my honor. You are the one who brought me back into the light of reality and always thought best of me. I could feel it, and I still think it holds true, even after what I did in that cave. Which makes me feel even worse, because then I doubly betrayed your shaky trust. _

_The life of my uncle and my honor are in your hands. If Azula dies, know it was me and come find me. I want my bands, my uncle, and my forgiveness. _

_Be well. _

— _Zuko _

Katara stared off into the distance. Could she possibly trust Zuko again? She breathed in the scent of the Angi Kai bands. They were undeniably Zuko's. From what she knew of his culture, these were not given lightly.

While she did not necessarily believe Zuko, Iroh, on the other hand, had helped her. He had seemed like a wise, caring old man, not at all like other fire benders she had met. Aang liked him, and so did Toph. But was risking the success of the Avatar's quest over the world worth a single person and an exiled, mood-swinging prince?

Zuko's face appeared before her eyes. First she saw the angry, arrogant prince in armor with his handsome—Katara smiled ruefully—horsetail of hair. Then she saw the sorrowful earth peasant with the hurt eyes and adorable shaggy hair. Which one was he? Somewhere in between?

She chewed her lip in thought. They hadn't found a firebending master for Aang yet. There was much to be lost and much to be gained with this endeavor. But risks were always a part of life. Suddenly, she made her decision and her doubt disappeared with the falcon winging away. Folding the unexpected but not unwelcome letter, she placed it in her belt, grabbed the Angi Kai bands, and went off to find Toph, the Earth King, and Sokka.

A/N: -gasp- what will Katara do!? If you have any bright ideas for actual names for the Angi Kai bands tell me, I'm not good with other languages and I'm being lazy. . . Oh, and if there is a direction you want this next chapter to go because while I want to go back to Zuko, I'm thinking about doing something with Sokka or Toph or the Earth King instead. . .

Anyway, REVIEW! PLEASE! THEY ARE MY MOTIVATORS AND MAKE ME INSANELY HAPPY!

Zuko: What happened to the spoon idea!? I don't need that peasant helping me! (for further refrence, see Death of a Princess beginning A/N)

C: Okay, Angry Boy, whatever you say. . .


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